When Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, came to hold a speech at thecamp last Friday, he was treated to a presentation of some flagship […]

When Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs, came to hold a speech at thecamp last Friday, he was treated to a presentation of some flagship projects of the site, including Airbus’ future taxi drones. Typically a more than relevant project for Air Space Drone .

This small company based in Gardanne has specialized in the management of drones’ air traffic. A very buoyant niche for Air Space Drone, making it possible for the start-up to travel a second time to Las Vegas’s CES.

Software and Hardware

What the start-up provides, explained me Alain Bascoulergue, one of its founders, is » a technological brick capable of both in-flight identification and reprogramming, in real time « . The true particularity of Air Space Drone lies in the fact that the company provides not only the software but also the small chipset implantable on any drone, whatever its brand.

Once equipped with this set of components, the drone then sends in real time a lot of information: the name of its owner of course, its insurer, its position, its roll, its pitch, … Air Space Drone takes care of everything. » Our business model is to offer service, resell the data in the form of bouquets, ranging from 5 to 60 euros.For 60 euros, everything will be timestamped.For example, we help the person prepare his flight, taking into account the weather.Hecan also apply for a flight authorization in real time while, if he goes through a request to the French prefecture, it takes a good week to receive an OK . »

Collision Management

If there is a risk of collision or entry into a prohibited area, the company’s tool will also be able to send an alert to the operator. And, in the near future, it will even be able to take control of the drone and change its trajectory.

Good relationship with regulatory agencies is part of the very identity of the start-up. Air Space Drone has tested the sending of flight frames to French official servers, tests deemed » conclusive » by Alain Bascoulergue, even if he does not know if they will decide to use his technology.

To get a large-scale idea of ​​the smooth running of the service, we can stay on the Côte d’Azur, while changing countries. The start-up has indeed been given the responsibility to protect the Principality of Monaco: all local UAVs will be equipped with the company’s chipset, those not being in danger of being intercepted.

Safety First

If Air Space Drone does not kid with safety, it’s probably a question of pedigree. Alain Bascoulergue is a former airline pilot, who has been in charge of flight safety for his former company. As for her co-founder, Françoise Derout, she is a former magistrate.

The company announces to have a client in Tunisia, others are supposed to follow soon in Asia. In Asia again, Air Space Drone has equipped 6 drones of the Airbus Skyways project , testing a drone delivery service in Singapore. A project presented everywhere as a precursor for Airbus’s drone taxis. The next time I see drone taxis at thecamp, I’ll have to check if an Air Space Drone chipset has been installed.